Search continues for escaped Thomas Co. inmate

THOMASVILLE, GA (WALB) -

A manhunt continues for a suspect in a child molestation case in Thomas County. Investigators say they're still looking into how he escaped from the jail. In the air and on the ground the search for escapee Charles Nix remains underway.

"Around 7:15am we had an inmate leave our facility Thomas County Jail," said Sheriff Steven Jones.

Nix is 25, 5 feet 8 inches tall, and 145 pounds. Thomas County officials say he has a violent past. They called in US Marshals, Georgia State Patrol, State Probation Officers and K-9 units from Valdosta and Mitchell County.

Once K-9 units identified a scent, officials searched dumpster's and anything in the vicinity that could help them to find the escapee and people who live in the area are concerned.

"We saw the helicopter hovering above, and when I was in town there was a lot of sirens going on and stuff, so I thought it might have been a wreck or a fire," said Thomas County resident Margie York.

However, Margie York was wrong. The officers were searching for Nix who was last seen running North of the jail, officials found his jail uniform.

"Now we don't know what he is wearing, we don't have a description of his clothing, he does have a violent history," said Jones.

After units tracked him just past Remington Avenue, all county schools were placed on soft lock down and the news spread quickly.

"I'm a retired educator from Thomasville High School, and I got word that they were on lock down, so I was just concerned about what was going on," said York.

In order to ease the public concern officials are doing their best to stay hot on the escapees tracks.

"He does have some contacts in Florida, I believe he has some history in Jacksonville," said Jones.

Searchers hope they'll get tips from the community to help them catch Nix soon. Officials won't give us details on the charges against Charles Nix.

If you think you've seen him or know anything about where he might be, call the Thomas County Sheriff's Office at 229-225-3300 or 229-225-4151